An unforgettable experience

After seeing the way the elephants were treated the other day by their mahouts (trainers), we decided we wanted nothing to do with any elephant camps that mistreat these animals, and just work them to death for the sake of tourism. We searched for something a little different, and came across the elephant nature park. This place is amazing. It's an elephant sanctuary that was started by one woman (Lek), with the idea of firstly rescuing elephants that were being mistreated, or severely injured (a lot of times by owner abuse), and secondly, educating people about what really goes on with these animals in Thailand.

Some of it was sad to see / hear, like the story of an elephant called "Hope", that refused to work after it gave birth, and her baby fell down the mountain and died. The owner then fired a sling shot into her eye, which blinded her. She still refused to work, so he stabbed her in the other eye with an arrow, blinding her totally. Lek rescued her, along with many other elephants with similar stories, and that is how the sanctuary started. We got to feed them, bath them in the river, spend the day with them up close, and basically just hang out with them. No fences, no chains, no hooks ....... just you, the elephants, lots of mud, and a bucket of fruit.

It really was a once in a lifetime opportunity. They weren't aggressive at all. lets face it, if they wanted to, they could have just swatted us with their powerful trunks pretty easily.